OPINION

Sick nation indeed

Re: "Power of words", (PostBag, Sept 13) & "Thailand is a 'sick' nation", (BP, Sept 12).

Unlike Thai Observer, I read the headline "Thailand is a 'sick' nation" and thought no more of it because it looks to be the plain and simple truth. Anyone reading the news for the past 6 months would understand there is nothing healthy about a country where massive police corruption was discovered in the issuing of visas, allowing Chinese scam gangs to run rampant, and where the country's most wanted criminal is allowed back to allow military-based parties to partake in government.

Then, right on cue, we get the Kamnan Nok affair, where a hired killer pumps six shots into a policeman and the other 27 attending the same party did nothing but cover up the crime. Following an election whose outcome was diluted by a few selected individuals with links to police and military, there is really no other description to use for present-day Thailand. It's a sick country alright.

Re: "Thailand is a 'sick' nation", (BP, Sept 12).

As a truly non-political person -- I last voted in the UK in 1972 -- and someone who has lived in Thailand for over 20 years, it is disappointing to read the new prime minister's comments, that the nation is like a sick person. He went on to list all the things that are wrong with the country.

He is also following the routine of the business world, when the new boss outlines all the problems that he has inherited from his predecessor and then proclaims that despite these problems, he will lead us to the promised land in next to no time.

He made no mention of the debt that his party gave the nation from the rice-pledging scheme, nor did he offer any words of assurances for the significant infrastructure investments over the past 10 years and those that will emerge in the next few years.

So, we all look forward to the new promised land. Don't get me wrong, I think the modernisation of the armed forces is long overdue, as are police reforms, better education and poverty alleviation. But Thailand from my humble, non-political perspective, is not like a sick person. It is an exciting country with a bright future……as long as the politicians don't screw it up!

Re: "More to democracy", (BP, Sept 12).

I agree with the comments of JC Wilcox about Brics. The fact is that in the last century, every regional or international body was created with selfish goals.

The quagmire in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and now Ukraine has eroded the reputation of Western countries. The abuse of the UN, G7, Nato, the World Bank, IMF, and other entities created by Western countries and their allies has exposed their intentions. A blatant abuse of power against a tiny nation, such as Cuba, and a naked embrace of communist China and many other authoritarian regimes in the Gulf have further tarnished their image.

In the last century, the Soviet Union and communist China were a big threat, and now Russia, Iran, and North Korea have become the new enemies.

Indeed, the time has come for a multipolar system and divergent regional economies to enhance their power by creating new entities and alliances that protect and benefit their members.